Governor General of Canada: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Roles and Duites of the Office

The Governor General of Canada (Fr. Gouverneur général or Gouverneure générale) is the representative in Canada of Queen Elizabeth II, who is Queen of Canada and the country's head of state. (The Prime Minister of Canada is the head of government.) The full title of the office is The Governor General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada.

The Governor General is named by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. It would cause a major constitutional crisis if the monarch did not accept such "advice." By tradition, the post alternates between an English-Canadian and a French-Canadian and generally serve a five year term (though, some Governors General had their terms extended by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister).

The current Governor General of Canada is Adrienne Clarkson, who is a Hong Kong-born former CBC television host. She was appointed by the Queen on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in 1999.

Although state power rests legally with the Queen, the Governor General performs the Queen's duties in Canada on a day to day basis. Parliament sits at "his or her pleasure", Royal Assent is necessary for all laws passed by Parliament, and as the Queen's representative in Canada, the Governor General acts as commander-in-chief of the Canadian Armed Forces. Real political power, however, rests with the Prime Minister, Parliament, and the provincial governments. Should the Governor General of Canada attempt to exercise any of these powers at her own personal discretion, it would likely result in a constitutional upset, and public outrage. The Governor General is a figurehead, who only performs symbolic formal, ceremonial, and cultural duties.

The Governor General's job is primarily focused around attending state banquets and functions for visiting world leaders, and giving awards and medals at special awards ceremonies. The Governor General is the Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, and therefore the Governor General often wears the red-and-white insignia of the Order at public events. As stated above, the Governor General acts as Commander in Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces on the Queen's behalf. Previously, the Governor General also wore an elaborate black military uniform with silver epaulettes, but since the 70's the outfit has largely been retired. The wearing of certain medals indicating high military rank has persisted, however.

The Governor General of Canada is perhaps best known for delivering the speech from the throne at the beginning of each parliamentary session. The speech is written by the Prime Minister and outlines the government's political agenda for the coming session. Unlike the Governors General of many other Commonwealth Realms, the Governor General of Canada does not refer to the Government of Canada as "My government" in speeches.

Current and past Governors General use the style "Right Honourable" (très honorable), like the Prime Minister. However, Governors General in office also use the style "His Excellency" or "Her Excellency". The Governor General's official residence is Rideau Hall; by tradition, he or she also spends several weeks a year at the Citadelle in Quebec City.

The Throne of Canada
Throne Chairs for The Queen of Canada, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Governor General, in the Canadian Senate, Ottawa. (The front chair is used by the Speaker of the Senate)

The Governor General and the Lieutenant Governors

At one point in Canada's history the Lieutenant Governors of the provinces were the representatives of the Governor General and not the Monarch. Today, however, the Lieutenant Governors are the direct representative of the monarch in the provinces. Lieutenant Governors are federal appointees, therefore, they are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and not the provincial premieres.

Canada's northern territories of Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut are not provinces and do not have lieutenant governors but Commissioners. The Commissioner is appointed by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. However, with the granting of responsible government to the territories in recent years the position of commissioner has become analogous to that of a lieutenant-governor and while commissioners do not constitutionally have the role of representing the Queen the role of de facto representative of the crown has accrued to the position over recent years.

Evolution of the Office

The office has changed dramatically since the 1950s. Before then, the Governor General was always British. In 1952 Vincent Massey became the first Canadian appointed to the role of Governor General, but he actually was not the first Canadian to perform the role of Governor General. Sir Lyman Poore Duff, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, became the interim Governor General in 1940 when Lord Tweedsmuir died in office. Since Massey's appointment however, a Canadian has always held the office and now it usually rotates between English and French-Canadians.

It was during the tenure of Roland Michener, 1967-1974, that the roles and duties of the Governor General were expanded the most. Michener relaxed protocol surrounding the Governor General. The practice of curtseying before the Governor General, for example, ended.

In 1971 Michener visited Trinidad and Tobago and became the first Governor General to go on a State visit to another country. This was initially the source of some controversy among Ottawa insiders, who considered state visits inappropriate for a Governor General to do, considering he was not technically Canada's head of state. However the successes of the visits helped end the controversy and established a precedent which is followed to this day. It is now customary that the Governor General takes state visits abroad as opposed to the Queen.

Recent Spending Crisis and Future of the Office

While the future roles, duties, and status of the office have long been questioned, it has been under heavy fire in recent months due to massive over spending. Reports have stated that the Governor General's office spending had increased by over 200% under the present Governor General, largely due to extra security due to fear of terrorism. In the summer of 2004 it was released, to the outrage of many Canadians, that the budget for 2004 had been set at 42 million dollars.

While once semi-secure, the future of the office of the Governor General of Canada is in question. Reactions to the spending crisis have ranged from calls to end the office, to scaling back the Governor General's duties and travels. It is clear, however, that many feel the office should be reformed. It is also noted the many Canadians felt that that they should have more of a say on who should become a Governor General. There is a feeling that the Governor General roles should be scaled down, becoming a pure representative of the Queen and not a head of state.

The present Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson, will reach five years in office on October 7, 2004, but it is not yet known if her term in office will be extended or if a new Governor Genral will be appointed. Tradition calls for her to be succeeded by a French-Canadian. Marc Garneau, the first Canadian in space, has been floated as a possible successor.

Unlike in some other countries, the title of the Governor General of Canada has no hyphen.